SELECT OR SATISFY?: THE VIDEO COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT
DILEMMA

INTRODUCTION

The writing of media collection development policy,
specifically a videotape policy, requires some considerations
beyond the written policies for book selection. In fact,
collection development policies for print material may not even
be models that are relevant to videos. The reasons for this have
to do with how the video item is used by patrons, cost per title,
and technological considerations. These issues have been
addressed succinctly by Hardy and Sessions who say, "Due to the
fragility, technical complexity, and relatively high cost of
nonprint media, additional care is needed in the selection
process"(Hardy 1985, 83).

Patrons, specifically instructors in an academic library,
often take a video into the classroom as the method of delivering
instruction for that class session. Other than textbooks, books
in the library collection often lend support to the curriculum,
but are not the sole focus of instruction. Who would be more
likely than the teaching faculty to know which videos should be
in the collection for this instructional purpose?

Since instructional video title prices can vary widely,
from $19.95 to over $400.00 per title, guessing at selection can
result in costly mistakes. Since videos could be obsolete in a
few years due to rapidly changing technology, it would seem to be
more important to buy videos that can be assured of some
immediate use.

A use study of materials acquired in the Illinois State
University Library Media Resource Center seemed to be the best
method of determining how collection development should proceed
and a way to write a policy that truly reflects selection
criteria.

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Since 1985, the library literature has been filled with

*Page 110*

articles on how best to develop a video collection. Questions
about which vendors to use, bibliographical organization,
equipment management, loan periods, copyright considerations, and
assessing user's needs appear along with advice from public,
academic, school and special librarians. Perhaps no single issue
though has received more attention than how to systematically
perform collection development. Should videos be collected from a
traditional process (e.g., writing a policy, reading reviews,
examining the book itself) or should the purchase be more demand
driven (let the user decide the makeup of the collection)?

"Perhaps the most important aspect of building a serious
video collection is the development of a written video collection
development policy, which should be part of the overall library
collection development policy" (Mason 1992,
32). Looking at the
SPEC Kit on "Audiovisual Policies in ARL Libraries" is helpful
because it identifies issues common to representative academic
video collections: collecting films that support curriculum and
instruction, making guidelines for the purchase of popular or
current films, and the consideration of price or funding
available. The similarities cease when policies outline who has
responsibility for selection and the steps involved before an
item is purchased. For example, UC Berkeley and Stanford take
purchase recommendations from teaching faculty, but final
selection rests with the media selector. The University of Hawaii
and Indiana University attempt to purchase all faculty requests.
Reading reviews is a regular step before purchase at
Northwestern, and previewing is mentioned only in The University
of Hawaii policy.

Commentary on the critical issue of librarian versus
faculty members as selectors is divided in the literature.
Proponents for library personnel as selectors suggest that a
committee of media librarian and subject specialists should make
purchase decisions (Ellison 1987, 370) and
that purchasing only
by "transitory user demand" runs the risk of developing a
collection that is not well planned and that "can contribute to
the notion of the library media collection as an
arcade"(Whichard)

*Page 111*

1985, 38). Reasoning that the faculty have a strong role in media
selection, Hardy offers that "using a particular nonprint item
may be an integral part of a course. Therefore the teaching
faculty tend to be more directly involved in selecting nonprint
materials than print materials"(Hardy 1985,
83). This idea is
backed by a published survey of academic librarians that reported
that "nearly all acquisitions are done by faculty order or
request; few come from staff or students"(Havens
1987, 34).

THE STUDY

Media selection at Illinois State University has
traditionally been a competitive process where faculty members in
each department are sent letters twice a year inviting
suggestions for purchase. Requests are submitted with
justifications that provide potential number of faculty and
student users, particular classes for which the item might be
appropriate and ordering information. A committee of librarians
then considers the requests and makes purchase decisions. Videos
are also added to the collection with some discretionary funds of
the media selector, and by subject librarians who have the
capability of purchasing media from their allotted book funds.
Money is also earmarked for rental of titles as an added service
for faculty when a title is not in the collection and is not
available through an interlibrary loan transaction.

A random sample of fifty videos acquired in the Illinois
State University Media Resource Center in the spring of 1992 were
tracked for use. Half of the videos were requested by teaching
faculty members and the other half selected by librarians without
a specific use for the video. A Macintosh software booking
program (Alexandria) keeps track of the number of charges for a
particular video. The dates of use for this study were August
1992 through April 1994. The videos not requested by teaching
faculty were publicized so that known items would not have an
advantage in use, other than a faculty members' predisposition to
a familiar title. Publicity included a newsletter from the Media
Resource Center with new title listings, a print catalog of
all

*Page 112*

video titles sent to departmental offices which included lists of
videos by subject, access through the library online public
access catalog, and personal recommendations by the media
selector.

RESULTS

In the booking program during the described time frame,
the average number of uses was taken for the twenty-five
requested videos and twenty-five selected videos. The average
number of uses for teaching faculty requested videos was 4.08 and
the average number of librarian selected titles was 2.03.
Requested video titles are twice as likely to circulate as
non-requested titles.

The video most often circulated was requested by a
faculty member and used thirteen times in the nineteen month
evaluation period. Three of the requested titles and seven of the
selected titles were not used at all.

IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

Because the videos selected for purchase by teaching
faculty receive twice the use of titles selected by librarians,
Illinois State University will continue to encourage faculty
input into the development of the Media Resource Center
collection. The collecting will be driven by videos that have
direct instructional applications and while the committee will
try to fairly disperse the funds across academic departments,
traditional attempts to balance the collection will not be made.
Considering the limited shelflife of media materials and changing
technologies, videos that will be useful in the classroom today
are much more valuable to the library and its' users than a
"balanced" collection that remains on the shelf in the Media
Center.

Collection development in an area like media that
encompasses all disciplines and has both popular and

*Page 113*

instructional applications can be challenging especially when
limited funds, equipment maintenance and obsolescence are also
factors. Each type of library must decide what the best video
collection for its' patrons, and gathering as much input as
possible, whether through the printed literature or from patrons
themselves is the most efficient way to provide a used, useful
collection.

REFERENCES

Brancolini, Kristine, comp. 1991. Audiovisual policies in
college libraries. CLIP note no. 14. Chicago: Association of
College and Research Libraries.

APPENDIX

LETTER TO FACULTY

To: Illinois State University Faculty

From: Kim Lloyd, Manager, Media Resource Center, Milner
Library

Re: Requests for Media Materials

The Media Resource Center located on floor 6, Milner Library,
contains non-print materials that support all areas of
instruction at ISU. Services in the MRC include: facilities for
listening and viewing in a variety of formats, film and videotape
scheduling and delivery, reserves, and reference assistance.

The Media Resource Center Acquisitions Committee solicits
requests for media materials to be purchased twice each year. The
Committee will review requests in October and April to
identify

*Page 115*

items to be purchased from the media materials budget. Items
which may be requested for purchase include (but are not limited
to): 16mm films, VHS videocassettes, audio tapes, compact discs,
slide/tape programs, filmstrip/audio programs, overhead
projection sets, videodiscs, and interactive video programs. You
may submit additional requests any time during the year and they
will be considered if funds are available.

To assist you in identifying needs which are appropriate for
this support, some of the criteria the Committee uses in
evaluating these requests are that the item(s): 1) could be used
in more than one formal education program of the University, 2)
will have multiple viewings and, 3) would not require spending an
inordinately large portion of funds available for this
purpose.

Enclosed is a copy of the Media Purchase Request Form.
Feel free to make additional copies as needed. Submit requests
directly to the Department Chair for approval and prioritization.
Please note that requests for media equipment and film rentals
should not be made on this form. All purchased materials will be
housed in the Media Resource Center. You will be notified whether
your request has been approved for funding and again when
purchased items are available for use. If you have questions,
please call me at 438-7452.

VIDEOS USED FOR STUDY

VIDEOS PURCHASED FROM FACULTY REQUESTS:
Climate factor
Textiles from source to consumer
The Hidden Army
Women in defense
Glamour girls of 1943
Great war
Seven wonders of the ancient world
Stand and deliver
Palestinian costumes and embroidery
Quest for fire
Origins of Mexican civilisation
Cities of the ancient Mayas

VIDEOS PURCHASED BY LIBRARIANS:
Crime and punishments
Campaign spending
National security
School prayer
Right to live
Immigration reform
Affirmative action
Page to stage
The future of media centers
Carmina burana
King Priam
The turn of the screw
Let's make music
John Jacob Niles
Schoo music
Sunny side of life
Public enemy
Dreams and songs
Appalachian journey
The land where the blues began
Cajun country
Jazz parades